World Cup: SESC keeps the ball moving with art, music and other Brazilian expressions

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Jul 02, 2014, 04:33 ET

SAO PAULO, July 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- On days without games (July 2nd and 3rd), the ball is still rolling on the field in Brazil with exhibits, programs and sporting activities at SESC SP, a non-profit public-private organization oriented to promoting social well-being. Taking its inspiration from soccer itself, SESC is presenting the exhibits Musica de Chuteiras, which compiles the musical history of World Cups (the anthems of the teams, of FIFA, as well as musical hits and even the vuvuzela), and Futegrafias, an exhibit by photographer Caio Vilela, who has captured scenes of street soccer in 27 Brazilian states.

A few minutes from the Arena where the Cup had its opening match, SESC is hosting the exhibition Amazonia Mundi , which offers an immersion in the environmental and social reality of the world's largest tropical rainforest. Taking up more than 1,200m² (located in an environmentally protected area), the exhibit brings together installations, murals, photos, videos and settings with stories, legends and myths from the region. The Brazilian identity is also represented at the exhibit O Brasil na Arte Popular, with works by 51 artists from 12 states. The show presents works with themes encompassing the everyday, festive and imaginary activities of the Brazilian people.

People and their environment are also the subject of the exhibit Retumbante Natureza Humanizada. An unprecedented sample of the photographic work of Luiz Braga about Para (a region of the Amazon Forest), it presents 160 images (from 1976 to 2014), ranging from saturated colors to expressionism in black and white, among portraits, experiments and scenes of daily life. Another highlight is the exhibit Grimm Agreste, which puts together original versions of the tales of the Grimm Brothers with literatura de cordel, the rhyming folklore of Brazil's Northeast.

At its 33 units, SESC also offers a variety of sporting activities, including soccer (with more than 85,000 students matriculated and a regular movement of 400,000 people per week). For the World Cup, SESC has arranged lectures given by former players, workshops, debates and interactive activities such as 'footbubble' (giant inflatable bubbles in which participants enter and play a match) and 'footgolf' (a combination of miniature golf and soccer), etc.

With a public-private management model, (with funding provided by a mandatory fee collected on commerce, and independent administration), SESC SP has more than 2 million registered members (81% with a monthly income of up to three times the minimum wage). "We are an educational institution, with an approach based on training the individual through culture, physical activity, recreation and appropriate life guidance on nutrition and health," says Danilo Santos de Miranda, Regional Director of SESC SP. Since the 1990's, this model has been attracting artists and intellectuals from all around the world (such as France, Germany, England, Spain, the U.S.). For nearly 30 years, SESC has offered enviable international programming that has changed the cultural life of Sao Paulo, hosting artists like Olafur Eliasson, Isaac Julien, Bob Wilson, Jane Birkin, Christian Boltanski, Peter Brook, Marina Abramovic, Roman Polanski, Yann Tiersen, Lou Reed, Domenico de Masi, Edgar Morin and Jose Saramago.